Contributor Hello, I'm 4D enthusiast

[4D enthusiast]

• Name: 4D enthusiast
• Social: Github: 4Denthusiast, IRC: _4Denthusiast
• From: UK
• Skills / Tools: Haskell, Java, LWJGL, WebGL, HTML/Javascript, procedural generation, physics simulation
• Found via: Google Summer of Code
• Interests: I made various minecraft mods when I was younger, which was why I learnt Java in the first place. I like doing graphics things, because it still amazes me how much GPUs are capable of.
• Extra: I'm currently studying for a Maths & Computer Science undergraduate degree. I hope to participate in Summer of Code with Terasology, possibly on #3161 if it seems plausible in the time available upon further inspection, or probably something graphics-related if not.

 

[manu3d]

4D enthusiast, welcome.

I notice you mention LWJGL and WebGL.

Terasology is LWJGL (2.92)/OpenGL (2.1) -based and there are currently two people working on rendering-related code: myself and @vampcat. We are about 2/3rds of the way of a large refactoring effort started about three years ago. We could certainly use some help, especially in what we call Shaderland, which is still a bit of a mess and is somewhat insulated from the ongoing refactoring effort - see for example this project idea.

I see your interest in #3161 however. That gets closer to the realms in which @Florian, @oniatus and @msteiger roam through (terrain generation). I'd get involved only if it impacts the renderer somehow.

Let us know if you have any questions. And again, welcome.

Kind regards,

Manu

 

[4D enthusiast]

As GSOC permits submitting multiple applications, I may do one each for tidying up the graphics and #3161 to hedge my bets a bit. I've never used such old OpenGL versions before. I'm still in the process of familiarising myself with the existing code though, so I'll just see how I go.

 

[4D enthusiast]

I've written a first draft of my GSOC proposal for cubic worlds. Any feedback would be appreciated. I'm currently having trouble creating a Google account, which is why I haven't put it on the GSOC website.

 

[manu3d]

What problem/error message are you getting if I may ask?

 

[4D enthusiast]

I think it was something unhelpful like "invalid request". It's resolved now (just doing it in a different browser). Also it seems I may have misunderstood: I thought draft proposals were meant to be posted on the GSOC website even in advance of the opening date for final proposals, but logging in to that website seems to not work even when I'm logged into Google ("You don't have an account").

 

[dacharya64]

I think that people can post proposals there after the opening date but before the closing date so that mentors can see and provide feedback, then students can rewrite and resubmit before the closing date.

 

[Cervator]

Yeah the student application period doesn't actually start till the 12th. In the meantime we suggest using GDocs with "Suggesting" enabled to support nice line comments

At some point you can (IIRC) direct the GSOC site to the same exact GDoc for your draft. Closer to the submission deadline toward the end of March you can then generate a final PDF to submit, again via the GSOC site. That's the ultimate proposal that will be evaluated for receiving a GSOC project slot. In the meantime the GDoc + Suggesting approach has been super useful for the back-and-forth between student and mentor(s)

I looked over the dropbox proposal and will post my comments here for now:

The timeline reads like you've put a good amount of effort into understanding and considering your goals, which is great.

Could you add a higher level summary ahead of the timeline to highlight the major overarching tasks (gravity, rotation, lighting, world gen, etc) and the likely problem spots, maybe especially what to do at the world edges?

I'd be especially curious about how two sets of 2D noise would gracefully unify into clean worldgen around the edges, and how the player (and stuff like thrown entities) would travel from one planet face to another Also what happens if the player (or natural forces) erode an edge to where the boundary from one face to another becomes more vague (mainly for movement/gravity). And what about the very center ...

 

[4D enthusiast]

Okay, I hadn't seen that Dropbox comments only work if you have an account there. A Google-docs (updated) version is: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Q19wIfAVuOp-8GEjSFtikcVm_xDDbbjWvLVQCYW8s44/edit?usp=sharing (also now submitted as draft via GSOC). I've made it more explicit in this version that I'm not even trying to make 2D noise work nicely, as there are further problems on imperfect cubes.

 

[Skaldarnar]

I see Haskell in the list of programming languages - I like

I've left a bunch of comments on the proposal draft, so please have a look. Technically it looks pretty solid, but the timeline could be a bit more detailed here and there. Also, some areas need a bit of clarification (probably sketches, mock-ups, and diagrams can help there...). In general, you should plan in some time each week to work on documentation and project documentation - doing it all in the final week might be a bit of a stretch.

 

[4D enthusiast]

I won't have time to respond to more proposal feedback until after the deadline, but thanks to everyone who's given feedback so far.

 

[Cervator]

Hey @4D enthusiast - you're welcome, and don't fret, the deadline isn't really the end anyway

Also, if you want a Slack invite sometime let me know (PM me an email or just ask me to use your forum email address). There's some discussion in #worldgen that might relate and we could discuss there further before or after the deadline. It helps bunches to interact more with our students even if the proposal is set in stone by the deadline. After all the actual project comes later, and gets reformulated in a more working format

I see your final proposal in the system so you should otherwise be all set